Emulsion polymerization is a very useful technique for polymer synthesis, and is widely used in academic and industrial fields for the synthesis of several commodity and engineering polymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl acetate), vinyl acetate copolymers and butadiene-styrene copolymers. The major advantages of emulsion polymerization include fast polymerization rates, high conversion, low viscosity and efficient heat dissipation. Moreover, using water as the reaction medium is cheap and environmentally friendly compared to the use of volatile organic solvents. The product of an emulsion polymerization, which is referred to as latex, can be readily used in a variety of applications such as paints, adhesives and textile coatings. A key component in an emulsion polymerization system is the surfactant (in the range of a few tenths of a percent to 5%), which stabilizes the emulsion. However, the use of surfactants could have negative effects on the properties of the product due to surfactant migration through the polymeric material which in turn affects the water uptake of the product and causes plasticization.
In light of this, there have been reports on the synthesis of polymers via surfactant-free emulsion polymerization (SFEP), for example by the use of ionic initiators, surfactant-free emulsion RAFT (reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer) polymerization, and polymerizable surfactants.
Presently, there exists a need for new polymerizable surfactants that may be used in a self-emulsion polymerization to mitigate the adverse effect of surfactant migration. Particularly useful polymerizable surfactants will have a structure that is homologous with conventional monomers.